


Everything is fine

by ToadsEnoki



Category: Original Work
Genre: Alcohol, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Anxiety, Arguments ensue obviously, Belly Button Play, Belly Kink, Belly Rubs, Bribery, Christmas Fluff, Cravings, Death Threats, Depression, Donuts, Drunkenness, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fat Shaming, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Force-Feeding, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Inhuman characters, Internal Monologue, Kink/Porn with plot, Light Sadism, M/M, Masturbation, Memory Loss, Mild Blood, Minor Character Death, Monsters, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Oral Sex, Pasta, Potential skippable smut but why would you, Public Humiliation, Sex, Shirt ripping madness, Shower Sex, Size Difference, Size Kink, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Slow start but trust me anyway, Teasing, Threats of Violence, Ugly Sweaters, Verbal Humiliation, Vomiting, Vore, Weight Gain, shirt ripping
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:15:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 15,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27119434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ToadsEnoki/pseuds/ToadsEnoki
Summary: Accidents happen. They happen all the time. You're supposed to take the blame, and move on. Even fix them if you can.Well, try telling that to someone with crippling depression and anxiety. What's the best way to get rid of your problems? Eat them away and hope no one's the wiser.Even if the more you eat, the closer you get to the truth.
Relationships: Original Female Character/Original Male Character, Original Male Character/Original Male Character, Original Non-Human Character/Original Non-Human Character
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	1. The past is in the pasta

"Hey, Tempest! I bet you cant eat the big bowl of ramen in under thirty minutes!"

Tempest barely heard the annoying, high pitched voice that sounded next to him. It only registered as a shrill squeak amongst the loud monsters, laughing and clanking their glasses together in a celebratory cheer.

The dragon placed the tequila he was unconsciously about to down, onto the table and turned his head to where he heard the noise. 

She was a hyena. Short and skinny. The black fur running down her head and neck was matted and wild, not unlike her gray spotted pelt. Her outfit, a black form fitting dress and shoes to match, somehow looked older as she drowned herself in whiskey and beer. 

..She was drunk. 

She swayed in place and smiled uncontrollably. The drink in her hand was empty and she still continued to put it up to her mouth as of it wasn't. Maybe it was good for her that she didn't realize. 

It was understandable enough.. Nani, the hyena was a very respectable woman. A single mother of three kids, and a simple office job. She would probably take any chance she could get to have a nice time out. 

"What?" He asked. More out of astonishment rather than his inability to hear. Regardless he was provided with the same slurred answer. 

"You heard me! I said, I bet you can't eat the big bowl of ramen in under thirty minutes!" She paused in between hiccups, and ended her sentence with another "swig" of beer. 

When he didn't answer, her face showed a look of unconcealed annoyance, and she pointed to a man in the bar sitting at a booth, passed out on the table. He was shivering and his head was tucked into his arms like a pathetic kid. 

The ramen bowl looked at least three times the size of him. Tempest could even see, that the poor guy didn't even make a dent, and it was still steaming hot despite his current condition. 

Nani smiled again, as if she was proud of her next statement. "It's also supposed to be super spicy, and if you can't get past that, you may as well just give up." 

Tempest raised an eyebrow at that. That's what all the commotion was about, he noted. At least thirty minutes ago, he saw cheering and shouting coming from that side of the bar. The dragon was so busy sulking that he didn't realize that the cheering could actually be FOR something. He just shrugged it off like another day in the city and took another shot of tequila. 

He just wanted to go home and sleep already. 

It was a long day at work, so instead of going home he thought he would go hang out with some work buddies. They ditched him in only a few minutes of entering the bar, and he was left questioning why he came in the first place. 

Of course, it's a small world, as some would say, and he was spotted by some familiar faces. Unfortunately for him, he well knew his "buddies" wouldn't be coming back for him. They were all probably balls deep in some foreign chick already, and wouldn't think for a second about dropping him back off at his house.

Not that he minded getting some fresh air anyway. It was more disheartening, really.

He decided to take his chances with some old job ..acquaintances. Little did he know, it was the most awful experience of his life. 

Not seeing his old friends meant that, of course, they wouldn't have been caught up to date on his life, or him theirs. So not only did he have to listen to the drunk ranting of the hyena, he was bombarded with questions, upon questions, upon questions. Most were just regular, run of the mill questions, like about his body and his new work life. Others, the ones he hated the most were more personal. He just shrugged them off and tried to give them as vague of answers as possible, and before Nani, the hyena, broke the silence with this stupid challenge, they were sitting in an awkward silence after they soon asked the wrong question.

He didn't feel too bad for answering the way he did, but seeing the looks on their faces when he snapped was like getting hit by a bus, transporting emotions he forgot existed. Like anxiety and fear. Hopelessness, rather. He was so used to doing the same stupid routine over every morning for the past year he almost forgot what it was like to be a regular fucking person with actual emotions.

The broken silence was a relief, he couldn't help but give at least a small smile to the hyena, continuing to press onto him just like when they were friends. Still, Tempest could see the unmasked, drunk disappointment on her face when she realized he wasn't the warm, chubby, wholesome friend she once knew. 

"You think I could handle that?" Tempest asked, desperate to keep the conversation from plunging into the slow, awkward few minutes it was before. And by few he meant probably longer than 20. At least it felt like it anyway. 

"No. That's the point of the challenge. It's supposed to be a challenge. If I'm being honest, I completely expect you to fail." She said matter of factly. As if she had never been more sure about anything else in her life. 

Tempest made a face, and turned his head when he heard another familiar voice speak up against the crowd. "You should do it. Loosen up a little." 

The voice came from a tired sounding goat monster, an off-white color, not unlike his own pelt, but slightly darker, and a few brown spots mixed in. Unlike the hyena's untamed mangy fur, his coat was cut short and combed back neatly into a short haired fluffy do. His horns were an elegant golden, and his beard was long and curly. Whenever Tempest looked at the goat he couldn't help but picture an old, wise wizard.

He wore black jeans, and a shirt that read I hate mondays. Never before had Tempest thought how perfectly that shirt encapsulated the goat's personality. He held a cold, sweating beer in between his fingered hooves and he took a long, loud sip from the bottle. 

"I'm already going against my diet and drinking tequila, what more do you want from me." He said flatly, throwing back another tequila as if to prove the goat wrong. 

Kyle raised an eyebrow at him. "Those tiny tequila's aren't doin' shit. Your like twice everyone's size, you can't expect the same amount of drinks to work the same for you." He said, sipping his own drink and looking directly at the dragon as if to spite him. 

" _You're_ telling _me_ I'm not tipsy?" He asked. 

"Not after that little tantrum, no." Nani butted in. The look on Kyle's face told him that he was just about to say the same thing. Just worded differently. "You've been drinking tequila's all night." 

Tempest rolled his eyes. "I like to keep my info private, and I only drank like five tequila's anyway." 

"Yeaaaaah, your method is kinda flawed." Kyle said, squinting. 

When Tempest didn't say anything, Kyle continued. "And also, you drank 12 tequilas. Anyone else would be having an aneurysm on the floor right now." 

"How would you even know that." The dragon gestured, and squinted at the goat. 

Kyle looked him up and down. "I've been counting glasses. I usually use this method to monitor Nani, I guess it's become a habit now." He eyed the hyena cautiously, sipping again from her imaginary alcohol. 

Nani didn't even seem to notice the insult. She was so interested in the conversation she just continued to look back and forth between him and Kyle. 

Tempest waited for a second, when trying to come up with another reason to defend his claim, Kyle cut him off before he could even open his mouth to speak. 

"Also, me and Nani have seen you drunk. And that ain't it." 

Nani finally got to insert herself into the conversation, and she poked her head into Tempest's peripheral vision. "Yeah! You eat a lot when you're drunk, you barely even touched any food here! The old you would've ordered three bowls by now!" 

Tempest cringed at that. But, tried not to show it on his face. The old him would've ordered three bowls and a burger on the side, he thought shamefully. Ever since he got into shape everyone kept talking about how he was before. He wanted to live in the present, not the past.

He wanted to stop hearing about the old him. He wanted to move on. 

But every time he had a conversation with someone he used to know, the first thing that comes out of their mouth is, "Oh wow, you look good." Or "I barely even recognized you." Or "You must be good with the ladies." 

Tempest knew he just sounded pessimistic at this point, but it was getting tiring listening to others compare his old self with the new one. He was him, and that was all. 

"You're right, I eat a lot when I'm drunk. It's almost as if I don't get drunk for a reason. Plus, I'm vegetarian anyway." He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. 

"So you admit you're not drunk then?" Kyle called him out, and Tempest only now realized he just outed himself. 

With a groan, he admitted reluctantly, "No, I'm not drunk." 

"So you'll do it!?" The hyena smiled widely. Her excitement would've been contagious if it wasn't such a terrible fucking idea. 

Tempest shook his head slowly.

Nani made a face, and lightened her mood when the gears in her head finally clicked into place. "I can get it without meat!" Nani pried. 

"Nope. That's not the problem." 

Kyle cocked his head curiously, and Nani looked at him expectantly. "Then what is?"

Tempest just half-lidded his eyes in annoyance and looked back and forth between their stubborn faces.

He sighed in defeat. "When I was.. overweight, I found it hard to let go of the food I wanted to eat. Not eating the foods I wanted for a long time would make it even harder to let go this time. Back then I didn't really care about my mental health. Much less my physical one," 

Tempest smiled slightly when he heard a huff of laughter come from the goat. But It was quickly turned into a frown, as he continued to speak.

"I just ate, and ate, and ate. For me it wasn't just survival. It was a coping mechanism for all the bad shit I was dealing with in my life. Now, I have ten times as many problems, and I can't use food as a crutch anymore." 

He pressed a hand onto his stomach, hardened by muscle. It was difficult to imagine the once soft and pudgy midsection he used to have, rounded by good food and a disgustingly loving girlfriend that fed him three times as much as he ate now. He remembered waking up to the smell of apple butter pancakes, and crispy bacon, wafting into his nose as if she was deliberately trying to make him hungry. 

He could remember the feeling of her soft hands caressing the side of his jaw, and her lips kissing the top of his forehead. 

He could remember the sound of her gentle voice, whispering into his ear, and her hands running across his neck and chest. "Wake up bunny, it's time for breakfast." Her voice echoed throughout his head. 

And then he was snapped back into reality. This old, dingy bar. The wooden, creaking table he remembered from such a long time ago. The corny christmas lights that dangled from the rustic inspired ceiling. The two pairs of eyes boring into him, waiting for what he would say next. 

He felt his own claws skimming the surface of his once sensitive belly, and he tilted his head upward slightly, until he could catch a glimpse of the ceiling fan spinning around. He could've tried to come up with a metaphor about how his life was just as unsteady as that fan was, spinning around on a loose hold and creaking loudly as if it would drop at any second, shattering into a thousand pieces. 

If he wasn't so tired, maybe he could do it. Fix this broken bond and finally bolt that ceiling fan in place, so it wouldn't ever fall again, and hurt anyone underneath. Or maybe if he took it down completely, it would never have a chance of ever hurting anyone at all. 

He could fix a problem well beyond fixing, by taking it away entirely. 

Tempest grit his teeth and blinked his eyes back towards the table. 

"I went vegan because I didn't want to stay how I was. And if I go back.. I don't think I could ever come back." He blinked slowly, and dropped his hand away from his stomach. 

There was a pause. 

"So is that a no?" Nani asked loudly. 

Tempest frowned, and completely lost all sentimental thoughts he had the moment prior. "Sure, whatever. No." 

Nani smacked her teeth loudly and sulked onto the table. While Kyle gave him a sympathetic look, It didn't last for long, and soon he went back to lecturing Nani for doing something stupid, probably.

Tempest huffed. It was true he wasn't drunk. He couldn't even get drunk anymore. No matter how much he drank. There was still a physical cost, but he never felt that lightheaded, serene feeling he wanted so badly. He could never just come home and throw himself onto the couch, crack open a can of some off brand alcohol, and chug until he couldn't walk straight. 

All he wanted was food. There was just this endless hunger that being vegetarian could never satisfy. 

"Tempest?" Nani called slowly.

The dragon moved his head back towards the hyena and hummed in acknowledgement.

"Are you happy?" 

Tempest widened his eyes in surprise at that question, and the hyena's suddenly sober words. His mouth fell open slightly as he tried to mouth the cacophony of thoughts racing through his head. 

"You don't seem too happy. Not about your new job or your new friends. Not even your body, you worked so hard for. You just barely notice them, like it's just an add on to your real goal. There isn't any point in living if your not happy about life. You used to love to talk, and laugh and eat. And now you're not bad, but you seem more distant.." She trailed off, tapping the bottle in her hands. 

"I want to talk to you more. I really do. I would love to hear about your life and your job, but I can't if you don't talk to us. Whatever you did to get that record, It doesn't matter. What matters is the now you. The now you that can learn to love other things. Instead of hating, hating, hating all the time. I was your friend then, and I'm your friend now. You're allowed to be happy, whatever you did. I bet it wasn't that bad anyway." 

She smiled on a happy note. Kyle looked as if he was proud of the words she said, and he nodded in approval. 

Tempest, on the other hand, didn't feel proud. He wanted to talk to them. He wanted to take their advice. But..

Tempest furrowed his eyebrows and glared daggers at the hyena. She widened her eyes at his spontaneous anger and reared her head backwards in shock.

"You have no idea what I did. You're wasting your time trying to play 'good samaritan'. I would keep my mouth shut about other people's business if I were you." He growled. 

Kyle made a face, and let go of his drink for the first time that night, jabbing an accusatory finger at Tempest. "You don't have to talk to her like that you asshole. She's just trying to help, like everyone else in your sad, pathetic life." 

"Because pushing me to do something I don't want to do is helping." Tempest directed his anger towards Kyle, and tightened the grip on his own crossed arms. 

"She's only giving you advice! And yes! Forcing you into something you don't want to do _will_ help, because you seem pretty goddamn adamant on staying the same!"

"Don't act so enlightened! Nothing either of you say helped or would help. Just leave it as it is, I don't need to be babied!" He snarled.

Kyle bared his teeth in anger.

"Kyle--" Nani tried to butt in, but she was interrupted by the goat's fury. 

"It _would_ help, if you could _be_ helped! But all you do is mope around because you got arrested!" Kyle snapped. 

Tempest couldn't find the words to express his anger, and Kyle took the opportunity to cut him off, yet again.

"Everyone has problems! You don't get to be the center off attention just because your poor little girlfriend moved away! And you don't get to act like your life is a sob story because she was afraid of living under the same roof as a criminal!" 

Nani snapped her face to Kyle. Any traces of alcohol was gone from her at this point, and she looked serious. It was hard to put into words what her face expressed. It was anger, and sadness he could tell, but something more. Nani knew what Kyle said was true, but it was as if she was too afraid to agree with him, and say why. Or she felt pity for the dragon.

Well, he didn't need pity. And he much less needed Kyle continuously trying to act as if he knew everything about him. 

The dragon stared directly into the goat's eyes, and leaned closer. His arms left their previously crossed state and in a scarily calm voice, he spoke slowly and clearly.

"You don't know anything about me. Neither of you do. We haven't talked in a long time, and I am not the same person you used to know." He paused and looked into the goat's eyes so fiercely, Tempest could've been convinced Kyle was his mortal enemy.

"So when I say, **get the fuck out of my face right now or I am going to hurt you** , **I fucking mean it**." 

Tempest almost hoped the goat would stay. But the dragon knew his message was relayed loud and clear, when his face contorted from anger, to fear.

Kyle slapped an angry 20 dollar bill onto the table and picked up the coat that was hanging from the back of his chair.

"And Kyle..?"

He stopped to look at Tempest, unfathomable anger crossed his face. He looked like he was about to walk out right then and there, but his own curiosity bolted him to the ground.

Without even looking up, Tempest spoke sharply, "If you ever talk about her again, I'll go to jail for murder this time." 

Kyle scoffed and walked away. With one look at the dragon's face, Nani placed her own money softly onto the table. 

She paused for a second, and picked up a nearby napkin resting on the table. He suddenly heard the click of a pen and with a scribble, Nani slid the napkin across the table toward him. She looked like she wanted to say something, but the call of Kyle's voice and the fact that he deliberately turned his head away from the hyena told her that her moment had passed.

Before she left, she looked back at him with a sad frown. And left without another word. 

After a few minutes, when Tempest was sure they were gone, he turned his head toward what she wrote on the napkin, and dropped his head into his hands in guilt. 

He let go of a long sigh, and clenched his temples angrily. He felt like his head was gonna fall off of his shoulders. 

Written, sloppily he might add, was a phone number. He recognized it immediately to be the hyena's phone number. Still the same as when it was in his phone. 

Even after he got mad at her for no reason, and yelled at her for just an innocent sentence, she still wrote down the number. 

It was the number he called so many times, whether he was worried, or just wanted a little company. The number wasn't an invitation to hang out, but rather an invitation to listen to his problems. Like she did before so many times. 

How could he forget that? How could he forget what good friends Nani and Kyle were?

Tempest couldn't look at it anymore, he turned his head away but wouldn't dare crumple up the napkin. Instead he slipped it into his pocket and hung his head low in shame. 

He was upset. Obviously. He was upset even more because he didn't even know why. His own anger bloomed and he was left alone, questioning why he had to push away everyone that just wanted to help. 

Kyle was right, Tempest inwardly admitted. Nani was just trying to help someone that couldn't be helped. She didn't deserve the punishment she got, and Kyle was only defending her. They were friends longer than he was friends with them anyway. Kyle knew better than him, and he knew that what the hyena said was true. 

In fact, Nani had been trying to tug at him the entire night. Tempest thought that the drunk ramblings of the hyena was just that. Ramblings. Ones that held no substance, and she was just saying words to hear her own voice. But, then she spoke like he meant it, and said some words he didn't want to hear. Words that he already knew. She spoke like he never left. Like that two year gap didn't even exist in their friendship. 

And what did he do? He got mad because everything Kyle said was true. He wanted to be accepted so badly, that he couldn't even look past his own pain, to see that there was other people on the other side. They wanted to help. But, he didn't listen. Just like when he ignored everyone else in his life. Just like when he ignored her. 

And that's why she left. 

Tempest furrowed his eyebrows, and dug his claws into his scalp. He didn't even know what he wanted anymore. 

After she left, he starved himself just as a punishment, and his eating disorder made the pain twice as strong. He wanted out of this world finally, and found the most painful way to do it. It almost worked, until his family had to drag him out of the hole he was in. 

Tempest knew he sounded ungrateful. His family cared about him, and he was about to do the most selfish thing anyone could ever do. But, he wanted out so badly he was really considering offing himself just because he was sad that his girlfriend left. 

It sounded pathetic when he thought of it now, but the dragon wasn't having any of it at the time. When he finally took hold onto his life again, the only thing that stopped him from falling back was a ridiculous amount of exercise, and muscle work. 

It became a new crutch to lean on. 

And it worked for a time... Until it stopped working. As if it were destiny, his life plunged back into unhappiness. Finally, tonight of all nights, Nani had to mention how much he used to love food. 

The taste of his favorite dishes across his tongue, the satisfying full feeling he got everytime he ate. He wanted something like that again. Nani was right about him being unhappy.

He was so unhappy, he was considering what he would even do with his life. And he even switched vegetarian to keep his mind off of the sickeningly tight ache in his stomach.

He was so hungry. He thought. Even now, his stomach was practically turning itself inside out because of it. 

What she said just kept ringing in his head. Her words stung like a bullet to the stomach. 

He was so incredibly unhappy.

And the one thing that kept him happy, besides family, besides friends, for his entire life, was food. 

The taste, the smell, the feeling, the warmth. It would always be there for him. And nothing else would. He pissed off some of the only real friends he had and pushed his family away because he was an entitled jackass. No one would want to care for him anyway, not after the way he treated them. Not like she did. And she was gone. And so was everything else. 

_So, fuck it all._

Tempest looked up when he heard the sound of footsteps approaching him. A waitress was walking towards him, ready with a tray in hand to pick up the left over glasses and plates, he assumed.

She was a pretty collie, long golden hair, and a smile on her face. Her apron was covered in grease and her fur was practically drenched in sweat. She looked happy. Even working in this shit hole of a job, she found a way to keep a smile on her face. It may have been fake, but it was there. 

Tempest had never thought so much more, how hard it was to keep a smile on his face. Was it possible to be so unhappy that he couldn't even do that?

"Would you like anything else tonight? The kitchen is gonna close in a few." 

She spoke in a soft accent, and she flipped her golden, floppy ears out of her face as she picked up the glasses off of the table and looked at him expectantly. 

As Tempest waited for her to finish talking, he noticed the bar had significantly cleared out, and he could actually hear the waitresses breathing as she finished her spiel. How long had he been monologueing? He thought to himself, and looked back up to the collie. 

"I heard there was a ramen bowl challenge?" He asked reluctantly. He almost didn't say it, but couldn't help but hear the words slip out of his mouth before he could stop himself. His stomach growled in anticipation as he finished his sentence, and her eyes lit up for a heartbeat. 

She nodded and, impressively, picked up the tray full of glasses with one hand. "I'll come back to explain the rules. Are you positive you want to accept the challenge?" 

Tempest thought. 

And nodded his head. "Yes." 

The dragon watched as her smile formed even wider across her face. She nodded back, and walked confidently back to the kitchen. He watched as the swinging door was open, and creaked back shut slowly. Then a few moments later, it opened again, except this time, along side her, a gorgeous silver feline kept a steady pace with her. 

Tempest couldn't help but stare at the gorgeous cat. Her eyes were a curious blue, and she had the white markings of a ragdoll cat. Her long-haired pelt seemed to shine in the artificial light, and she smiled when she met his gaze. 

Her eyes seemed widen when they met his, and she quickly turned her head somewhere else as they continued to walk up onto the table. When they stopped, the collie lifted up the paper she had in her hand, and smiled again at the customer. 

"You dare to accept the spicy ramen challenge!? If you can make it past the noodles you'll have it half off." She stoped dramatically. 

"But! If you can get past the spice, you will have it free of charge!" The other patrons were starting to notice, and they began walking over to see who else would take on the challenge.

No wonder this was such a big deal before. Tempest thought. He wouldn't be surprised if the entire world knew he was doing the challenge. 

She continued on, and the feline beside her caught his attention. He could see in his peripheral vision that she was staring at him. Her bright blue eyes made it hard not to look back, and they met eyes for another second. They stared at each other for a little longer, until the feline jumped as the paper was shoved into her hands by the collie. 

She didn't even have to say anything, and she continued to stand beside the feline as she fumbled with the paper in her hands. Her mouth opened and she stumbled over her words as she was suddenly given the position as speaker. 

"In order to get it free of charge, you must clear the bowl of all it's contents, including all liquids and foods. You must consume the bowl in under an hour with no breaks or drinks provided from the spice. By the end of the hour, your mouth must be clear of all food and you must wait for an additional five minutes in order to drink. You must eat it by yourself, and receive no help. Anyway of consumption is valid, whether its with your hands or a fork." 

She continued on, listing the rules and then dropped her hands to her sides. "We'll have your food out to you in a short half an hour. Be prepared for a spicy demise." 

The feline didn't have nearly half as much conviction as the collie. She even had to pause a few times to look closer at the words, and not once did she look back up to the dragon. 

Finally when they were done, they stepped back and said aloud together. "May lady luck be to your liking, soldier." And left him in a slightly better mood than before.

At this point he couldn't tell what was more pleasing, the corny lines they were required to say or the silver cat he laid his eyes upon. She was so beautiful. Her fur, her eyes, her body. Her smile left his heart aching for the warmth the showed towards him and his lower region throbbed with lust. He squeezed his legs together and felt the almost straightened shaft brush up against his legs. His sudden urge to satisfy himself almost clouded his hunger. But in the end, that won. 

And when he saw the giant steaming bowl of noodles, he almost couldn't contain his own excitement. His stomach practically caved in on itself and it took everything he had not to snatch the bowl away the girl carrying it and down it in less than a few minutes. But, not only was his dignity too strong, he had a small doubt flicker in his mind. 

What if this was a bad idea? What if doing this caused him to spiral out of control and into the hole he was pulled out of once before? What if he did what he did again?

Tempest stopped and looked inside of the bowl that was just placed in front of him. The smell of the warm food made his mouth water, and his mind couldn't help but jump to the foul tasting veggies and coconut water he was forcing himself to eat and drink. 

If he did this he could never go back. He thought to himself. After a few more seconds of talking, the waitress clicked a timer on and walked away from the table. 

Tempest stared mesmerized into the bowl, and noticed his own reflection. His snow white fur looked gray, and his red eyes seemed dull, even in the broth. His mouth was down turned into a resting frown and he'd never seen himself look so tired before. 

Endless hours of exercise. Months of dieting. And he looked so small. He didn't look as healthy as he thought he did. Tempest furrowed his eyebrows at the sight, and picked up a fork sitting beside him. 

He licked his mouth and plunged the fork into a piece of meat floating at the top of the broth. 

He stared at the perfectly cooked slice of meat, dripping with spicy broth and grease. The middle was a brownish pink, and the outside was charred, and looked crunchy to the taste. His eyes lit up with a newfound determination and he raised the piece of meat up to his face and closed his mouth over the pork. 

The familiar taste of greasy meat and spice filled his mouth with a satisfying squelch. So much so he almost wanted to cry. After a year and a half of going vegan, and missing the foods he cherished so much, the taste was back, and he swallowed his mouthful. The warm meat slid down his throat and passed until he couldn't feel it anymore. The food was well into his belly now, and he practically jumped at the thought of the entire bowl getting to join it. 

Tempest eagerly plunged his fork back into the bowl and and spun it around to pick up a bunch of noodles. They were so soft and the broth stuck to them like glue. 

They weren't kidding about the spice, he thought as he chewed the noodles thoughtfully. He already wanted water, but he wanted to do this challenge right even more, so he would have to make due with the incredibly spicy broth.

The dragon pushed on through the spice and picked up a hard boiled egg to calm the flames on his tongue. Somehow, even the foul tasting egg was a greeting as he plopped it into his mouth. It was a relief to the heat, and he washed the taste away with a stalk of bean sprouts. 

He hadn't tasted bean sprouts in such a long time. They were still just as tasteless as before, only really there for an added veggie. The crunchy texture and onion like consistency made them a welcome sight in the dragon's eyes all the same. 

Tempest looked at the stopwatch the waitress gave him. 10 minutes in. He looked into the bowl and saw he barely even made a dent. Having only eaten just a few pieces of pork and picking toppings and noodles off of the top. At this pace he would have to pay the bowl in full. 

Tempest frowned inwardly at that, and picked up his pace slightly. His first day back into a normal eating style, he wouldn't give up that easily. The spice would be hard to get past, but at least he wasn't feeling full anytime soon. 

The dragon continued to throw noodle after noodle, beansprout after beansprout into his mouth until the spice became almost unbearable. He was panting and his nostrils were wide, greedily gulping in more cool air. His fur was drenched in sweat, so much he looked like he just traveled through a rainstorm. Not only from the spice, but from the steam rising from the bowl. The warm feeling in his stomach was turning into a cramp, and making him even more tired than he already was. He was so focused on time, he didn't even begin to notice the tight feeling in his stomach until it was too late. 

Tempest groaned in displeasure, but couldn't ignore how good it felt to be able to do this again. His stomach hurt, but it was a satisfying pain that resonated from even his younger days. Gorging himself until he couldn't move and going to sleep directly afterwards. Tempest smiled to himself at the old memory and felt an old happiness creep up his spine when he felt his belly brush against the gray sweater he wore. 

The feeling was so welcoming, he'd forgotten how much he missed it. 

Like a motivation, Tempest picked up the fork and ate twice as fast, barely chewing his food and forcing it down regardless of the spice. He wanted that feeling more. So much more that nothing else mattered. 

The dragon was soon scraping the bottom of the bowl for noodles before he even realized it. Suddenly he was almost done and with an extra 20 minutes to spare. He sat back instinctively and burped loudly. The rest of the bar was almost cleared out by now. Save for a few patrons either asleep, or too drunk to leave on their own. He may was well have been alone in the bar, and it gave him comfort to know no one was judging him because they were either too drunk or too tired. 

The dragon burped quieter this time and rested a hand on his largely distended belly, now rounded from the constant stream of food it was getting. Tempest felt a sense of pride when softly rubbing the mass. Like he conquered his own fear, and waiting on the other side was a bliss he could've never imagined ever experiencing again.

All there was left was broth now, the dragon thought as he panted through an open mouth. His tongue lolled out of the side of his mouth and a blush spread over his nose, as red as a tomato. He pat his stomach gently and he smiled as it groaned back it him in annoyance. The cramped feeling was still there but all he felt was warmth and his hand soothingly stroking it. 

"Fuck.." He said quietly, and squeezed his legs together in pleasure. At this point, his belly was pushing so hard on his shirt, it was raised up, and exposed at least an inch of his soft white fur. He wanted to roll up his shirt and go to sleep with the feeling of his own hands across his bare sensitive stomach, but no amount of privacy except for his own home could ever get him to do that. 

With one final cautious pat, as to not jostle the contents too much, Tempest prepared himself for the long haul. As if the broth wasn't spicy enough, he would have to down the rest of the bowl before he was sent into another coughing fit. 

He stretched and sat up straight, his hands met the still hot sides of the bowl and he held onto it as if it were his own child. He swiped his tongue over his red stained muzzle and placed his mouth up to the bowl with a small clink. He breathed in one last breath of the cigarette filled air and tilted the bowl. 

He was overwhelmed at the speed of which the liquid pooled out, and he had trouble keeping up. Broth ran down the sides of his mouth and he tilted the bowl back to it's original position in order to catch his breath. 

He burped softly again, and licked the broth off of his mouth, as far as his tongue would allow anyway, and didn't bother to wipe the stains that were running down his neck and shirt. He was breathing even harder than he was before, and the spice was burning his mouth from the inside out. But, the sooner he finished this challenge, the sooner he could get something to drink, he reminded himself coolly. 

With another attempt, he raised the bowl up to his face and tilted it backwards with intent to kill. He matched a steady pace with the pouring liquid, gulping it down with a passion. He ignored the itching at the back of his throat and the growing tightness in his stomach. Until he couldn't take it anymore, and finally relented, relishing in his progress with another belch. He panted even harder than before, and his warm breath made the spice so much worse as he exhaled. He just wanted to get this challenge over with already. 

He was almost done. He just needed a few more big gulps. Tempest looked into the bowl and sized up his chances to one shot the rest. He took another deep breath, and finally set it down on the table with a loud bang a few seconds later. 

He burped again, exhaling loudly and stirring up a few of the patrons that decides to go to sleep here. But, he was too excited to feel sorry for the drunken monsters. He licked his lips triumphantly and almost even flipped off the empty bowl before he realized that his excitement was getting the better of him. 

Like karma, excitement soon turned to pain as he realized his stomach was nearly twice the size it was originally. He laid a hand across it to sooth the grumbling ache he felt from inside and lolled his tongue out of the side of his mouth. His panting grew into a winded chuckle and he leaned forward, patting his stomach in happiness. 

It's been so long since even he had heard that sound. The feeling of an excited laughter in his throat. Tempest remembered something from the list of rules the collie read off and picked up the timer in his hand. With one hand firmly pressed against his belly, Tempest pressed the button to stop the timer, and not shortly after, the same pair of women exited the kitchen door. 

Her barely got to see their looks of surprise when they saw him with an empty bowl in front of him, and soon he was congratulated until his ears were sore. Now the final part of the challenge. 

The spice was bad, but not so bad that he couldn't wait 5 minutes. In fact, he even took it upon himself to get comfortable while he waited, resting his head against his arms crossed onto the table. A tired, content expression on his face. Tempest yawned, and felt his eyes get heavier as he neared the five minute mark. And as he finally heard the cries of joy and his final congratulations, he felt like his brain shut off, and he was asleep in less than a few seconds afterward. 


	2. Midnight Meringue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *CHAPTER CONTAINS MASTURBATION*
> 
> This took me TOO LONG to write. I'm just hoping it's worth it. Thankyou for your kudos and comments! (//° v °//)

"Hello? Excuse me?" 

Tempest felt a small tick on his shoulder, soft and hesitant, as if it was afraid of getting his attention. At first it wasn't bad, just an annoying bug that tugged every now and then, like it was contemplating him. He was so exhausted he barely even noticed it. Eventually It's consistency grew, and so did his annoyance.

He furrowed his eyebrows unconsciously. What was that annoying thing on his shoulder? Tempest shrugged his shoulders a little, attempting to either scare it off or shake it off. Obviously it wasn't having any of his half assed attempts, and only sped up. 

This was when he began to wake up. He still couldn't quite put his finger on the feeling, and he was getting very annoyed with it. He was too tired to be dealing with this right now. Lazily, he almost considered just trying to sleep through it. Maybe if he kept silent and motionless, it would either get bored or think he was dead somehow. 

That didn't stop or even slow it down. And it only grew faster. He could tell by the increased pressure that the bug was getting just as annoyed as he was. Someone would have to deal with an incredibly cranky dragon in a second, he growled silently, and eventually succumbed with a huff of frustration. 

He opened his eyes to a blinding white light. His vision swam with colors and figures, and his head was throbbing in an unbelievable pain. 

Hangovers.. He groaned inwardly. 

As if a throbbing head was the only thing he had to deal with tonight.

His lower back was knotted and aching, most likely from leaning over onto the small, cold wooden table. Alcohol was practically coursing through his veins, and a queasy feeling tugged at the back of his throat. His mouth was dry with the salty, spicy broth, and now he definitely regret not getting something to drink before he fell asleep. 

The worst of it was his belly. As if he couldn't come up with more ways to complain about his terrible choices. The tight, brown leather belt he wore wasn't an issue until he decided to lean forward and take a nap. The hard object jutted into his soft underbelly like it was trying to hold itself together for dear life. Even as he breathed right now, it creaked under the pressure of staying together and he felt like his bones would be crushed under the tightness. His shirt, well above the halfway point of his gut was rolled up into itself, and pushing hard onto the top of his belly. Even rolled halfway, he still felt as if he was being suffocated. 

God, he wished he'd stayed home. 

Not even to mention he felt disgusting, filled to the brim with greasy liquid, and meat that felt like it might've been more than a few weeks old. Maybe eating such a big meal immediately after a year of being vegetarian wasn't a very good idea.

Tempest leaned back in his chair with a loud creak and rested a hand on the top of his tummy. He closed his eyes to the burning light and yawned as he gathered himself. 

Despite the pain, and the annoyances, he couldn't lie to himself and say he didn't absolutely love this feeling. The feeling of his claws brushing the surface of his rounded belly, the full warm feeling he got from gorging himself, the taste of the amazing food he got to shove down his gullet. 

He moaned quietly, and patted it gently with a small, content smile. The inside sloshed and groaned under his sudden movements, sending a sharp pain towards him.

Maybe he shouldn't do that.. He pondered and decided to just comfortingly smooth the fur below his palm. Suddenly he heard a voice next to him, and it made him jump at the sound. His stomach did not like that. Another sharp pain was sent up his chest and he instinctively gripped the mass in his hands. 

"Huh--!" He blurted out. And a wave of anxiety and embarrassment hit him like a slap to the face. He forgot someone was next to him!

It was sultry, smooth and high pitched, like an angel. She seemed to stutter over her own words a little, it was barely noticeable but it made her so much cuter to listen to. 

"Good morning.. I hate to wake you up like this.." She said.

Tempest turned his head, and scanned over her face slowly. She had curly gray fur, that shone healthily in the artificial light. It looked smooth to the touch and seemed to bounce along with her curiously swaying motion. Splotches of a cream white dotted her nose, ears, hands and tail. Her cute pink nose twitched curiously towards him, and her bright blue eyes seemed to glow against her short haired, gray fur. 

The feline's pupils were rounded in an unbridled interest, and she cocked her head to one side. 

She was even prettier up close. 

Tempest felt an even heavier embarrassment weigh on his shoulders. He could tell how tired she looked, in her grease covered apron. He almost felt bad sleeping here, only for the cat to wake him up probably just an hour or two afterwards. Although her face didn't show that she was really unhappy looking at him right now. She looked more like she was interested..?

Tempest felt his eyes wander over her face and neck. As if it were out of his control his eyes began to move down further. He couldn't help himself and huffed gratefully when she spoke again, snapping him out of whatever horny stupor he was in. 

At least he didn't make himself look like a pervert.. Even though he didn't get to examine over her body. 

"We're gonna be closing pretty soon. I could've waited, but I wanted you to be able to gather yourself a little before we had to force you out of the door.." She added, a hint of humor edging in her voice. 

Tempest cringed slightly at that sentence, unconsciously attempting to pull down his tightly drawn shirt. Ofcourse, it didn't budge an inch and he cursed himself inwardly, resting a hand on his thigh instead and hoping that she didn't catch that. 

To his dismay, he looked back up at her face and her eyes were perfectly aligned with his tummy. 

Fuck, he thought.

Unbridled shame flooded through him. He probably looked like such a disgusting slob.. He grit his teeth and clenched a hand to his thigh. 

She didn't seem disgusted though, instead she looked up in a look of admiration. To his ultimate confusion. 

"It's really impressive y'know. The challenge? I've never seen anyone actually complete it. Usually if someone can stomach the amount of food, they can't do the spice. 'Prepare for a spicy demise' doesn't seem all that stupid, huh?." 

Tempest shrugged. In all honesty he could've done it in half the time about two years ago. The perks of being a raging fatass. He thought, solemnly. 

The dragon opened his mouth to speak, but whatever came out was like he was speaking in a different language, because the feline widened her eyes at what he said. A look of concern crossing her face. 

"Oh my goodness, do you need water!?" She asked a little too panicked. 

Tempest felt his dry, raspy throat pulse in pain. As much as he wanted to say 'Oh no, you don't have to do that', he wouldn't even be able to tell her anyway. 

The dragon nodded quickly, and tried to swallow anything remotely liquid inside of his mouth. He watched her disappear into the kitchen, and waited a few seconds before the feline emerged through the doorway with a glass full of clear water. 

She speed walked back to his table, afraid of spilling any, but trying to get the water to him as fast as possible. He honestly thought she was thinking too much about the situation, but he accepted the water just as gratefully. 

Tempest downed it in less than 10 seconds and sighed peacefully. The soreness in his throat faded a little, and the pain in his stomach became a little less. 

He managed a small thankyou, and she hummed in acknowledgement, setting the foggy glass onto the table lightly. 

The feline laughed. "I'm Silver, by the way."

He smiled. "Tempest." A small rasp was still there, but nothing like it was a few moments ago. 

They stayed quiet for a second, and he watched her eyes flick around the room, looking for words to say. He could tell she wanted to keep the conversation going, but didn't know how to approach about it. 

Tempest spoke and she snapped her head to his, meeting his eyes with an interest. "How long have you been working here?" He said without much thought.

Silver sighed. "This dump? Maybe four years now? My father owns the place, but he's long since been retired. He didn't want to sell it off or give it up to 'foreign hands'." The feline air quoted. 

Tempest cringed at her words. She spoke mostly with vigor and interest. But a slight accusatory tone was there too.

"I didn't think it was a dump." He lied, and twitched his ears in embarrassment. He wouldn't say he was a bad liar, but the way the feline looked at him again was practically screaming in his face that she knew. 

"Well, I can't say I agree with you.. He hardly keeps the place up, and sometimes I'm scared I'm gonna get hit by a loose pipe or a creaky fan." Silver laughed to herself.

"No, really. I used to come here all the time and drink at the bar. When it still had those weird marbled floors. Calling this building disgusting is almost like calling myself disgusting." He laughed. He was still lying about how he thought the building was disgusting, but coming here all the time was a truth. Nani and Kyle always irresponsibly bought him drinks even though at the time he was 20 and technically underage. 

And he didn't look like he was 20 either. Maybe in his early 30's. Tempest always wondered whether it was his height or his looks. And he hoped to whatever god was listening that it was the former. 

"Really? I've never seen you." She asked almost disbelievingly.

Tempest smiled. "Yeah, I looked a lot different back then." 

He thought of what he used to look like, neatly cut hair, a rounded face and a soft, chubby exterior. A gut that was nearly twice the size it was now and softer arms and legs. His fur was a pure snow white, and his eyes were a piercing bright red. People seemed to flock to him more then. He had more friends, and he was very close to his family. 

Now he had muscles, a square jaw, and a considerably smaller waistline. His snow white fur resembled more of a dirty gray and it was longer and shaggier than it had been before. His skinner face made him look like he was always furrowing his eyebrows in a look of disgust, and his eyes seemed more like a sad pink. 

Some people seemed to think he finally got his life together when he lost weight and gained some muscle. It's not like his weight before was life threatening either. They just seemed to think, at first glance anyway, that he was better off. But a nicely toned body, and square jaw didn't not make him a sad piece of shit on the inside. And everyone realized that when they actually started talking to him, and looking past his looks. 

He'd never thought he'd wanted to be fat so much in his life. He didn't even like his weight at first, just the concept of eating. And now he didn't realize how much happier eating made him. Tempest held back on soothingly rubbing his tummy. All he could think about was how much he loved this now. 

The dragon looked back up at the feline, hoping he didn't make her wait too long.

"Then I moved out of the city." He finished. 

"What made you leave?" Silver didn't hesitate to ask the next question.

Tempest inhaled. "My uh.." He started. "My ex girlfriend."

"Oh." She said, a sad look on her face. "Yeah, you think you want to stay your entire life with them. Then they get bored or change their mind." 

She spoke like her experiences were all too real. Tempest sighed, a breath he didn't realize he was holding. 

Yeah. Breakups fucking suck.

"What about you? Where do you work?" Tempest was happy she was so willing to change the subject, and didn't ask why he had to come back. He didn't think he would be able to give her a straight answer. He was already on the verge of walking out at just the mention of his ex. 

And he grit his teeth inside of his mouth anxiously. 

It was embarrassing telling people. He would say where he worked, they would question him and eventually it would lead to him having a conversation about losing his old, much better job, because of a criminal record. To which they would shut down the conversation immediately.

It was an annoying process to go through, but by now he was used to it. But the thought of having to tell someone who showed an interest in him, if even a little, was damn near heartbreaking.

People always shot him looks of disgust and made up some stupid excuses to leave the conversation. Or they just outright left in front of him. It was even worse when they find out what he went to jail for.

The look of curiosity shone in her eyes now. He could see her face shifting a little. Like she was thinking, but didn't say anything about it, still patiently waiting for his answer. 

"I work in accounting." He said casually. 

Silver wore an incredibly confused look on her face, and she cocked her head as if the further she leaned it, the better she could think. 

"That's a good job though." She said thoughtfully. 

He chuckled loudly, and his belly bounced in his lap. A wide smile crossed his face. "What were you expecting?" 

She laughed along with him, relieved. "I don't know, a fast food joint? You had this look on your face, like you hated talking about it." 

"I can assure you, even I would never stoop that low."

He was happy that he didn't have to talk about it. And even happier that he didn't have to twist the truth or outright lie just to stay in her good graces. 

"What's it like? I've never had an office job." She asked. 

Tempest tapped his chin. What was the best way to explain his job without making it sound like the most confusing spiel possible.. 

"It's just like any other office job. You calculate how much money is being spent over a specific time period based on what product is being shipped, and how much money you gain based on how much the product sells. Then you subtract that from the average bills, selling rate, and co-payers, then you get how much money you have. From there you have to figure out what money goes where by calculating how much each bill costs and the..." He trailed off when he looked back at her face. She wore a frown, and her eyebrows were curled upward. 

He scratched the back of his head bashfully. "Heheh. Sorry." He laughed. "I tried not to make it sound that confusing. I guess I talk a lot when I'm tired.."

The feline dismissed him with a wave of her hand. "It's just me." She laughed herself. But this time it sounded forced. "With school and holding down two jobs, then having to take care of my mother it's been pretty rough these past few months. I feel like I'm getting dumber. No matter how much my professors yell at me." 

Tempest nodded in her direction. He wanted to say something, but it wasn't his place. Not only that, but he was more reluctant to admit he was still incredibly exhausted, and it was taking everything he had just to sit up and talk regularly. His interest in her was motivation enough to stay awake, but that didn't make a few hours of sleep any more. 

But complaining would get him nowhere, and she was probably worse off for the night. 

With a shake of her head, her eyes snapped to that usual wide curiosity, and she looked back up at him as if she never even said a word. 

"Don't mind me. I hate to dampen the mood so early in the morning. You don't mind if I ask another question, do you? I hope this doesn't feel like I'm interrogating you at all. 

"Sure." He said coolly. "And no, I get used to answering questions." 

"Right! Accounting." She pressed a hand to her forehead and made a face. Suddenly she took a deep breath and her face turned back into a small neutral smile. He could see the bright red blush that flooded under her fur, especially in the light.

The feline shuffled in place. "Would you ever want to get a coffee sometime? I got so.. into talking, I forgot that I actually have some place to be soon. And I'm sure I'm not the only one." She looked him up and down. 

Tempest blinked. And blurted out the first response that came to mind. 

"That would be great!" He said. Almost a little too eagerly. 

Silver smiled back the widest smile he'd ever seen, and she nodded her head towards him. She pulled out a small waitresses notepad and a pen and scribbled down something onto the paper. She ripped it out of the notepad, then handed him the yellow sheet with a smile. 

"Great! I guess I'll see you later then." 

Tempest grabbed the paper from her hand softly and smiled when he saw what he assumed to be Silver's number scribbled down onto the sheet. 

He nodded to her and slipped the paper into his pocket. "I can't wait." He said coolly, and watched as she walked away from him. 

She swayed her fluffy tail back and forth, and she walked with one foot in front of the other. Giving him a perfect view of her ass as she walked away and disappeared behind the kitchen door. 

He stared at the swinging door for a second. Still mesmerized by her. 

Then he stretched in place and yawned widely. He felt like shit, but it was nothing a nice hot shower and some sleep in an actual bed wouldn't fix. 

Tempest stood up and picked up the brown jacket that was laying on the back of his chair. He slipped it on and gratefully sighed as the zipper successfully slipped over his stomach. Now he wouldn't have to worry about passerbys' that looked him up and down with disgust. 

And his tummy was nice and secure under the zipper. Only reminding him how much he wanted that shower. 

Tempest picked his phone from his pocket. Immediately, he checked the time. Midnight, he noted sleepily. No wonder he was so tired. 

The dragon walked a few paces to the door, and realized how right this felt. There was something that always felt off about his previously skinny frame. He felt unbalanced, and as if he could be knocked away by the wind itself. 

With this new weight, he felt bolted to the ground, like this was meant to be. It made him feel safer, warmer. 

He didn't realize how much more comfortable he felt in his own skin like this..

Tempest shoved his hands into his jacket pockets and held two comforting hands to his belly, as he pushed past the door that separated the warm, bright bar, from the cold winter air. 

The snow brushed past his fur like a slap to the face, and immediately his once sweaty fur, was practically forming icicles. Even with this jacket on, albeit it wasn't that big, he felt like he would turn into a popsicle out here. 

The wind was so strong and the snow flew past his face so fast, he would've thought this was a blizzard grade storm. 

At least cold weather was normal in this town, Doestone. And the winters were something awful. Good luck to any tourist or visitor that got caught in this weather. 

It was quiet outside. The only sound he heard was the wind whipping past his floppy ears, and the distant sound of cars driving slowly through the heavy snow.

It made sense, seeing as it was midnight and freezing. Usually the small town was loud and bustling with honking cars and yelling people. He was happy that he didn't need to spend his tired morning dodging assholes that never moved for anyone else. Especially not with a specific, something that would probably make him vomit if it was pushed on too hard. 

Tempest unconsciously held his belly tighter to himself at that thought. His morning was already a little shitty, save for a gorgeous woman that asked him out. His day would immediately be plunged back into terrible if he lost his dinner on the spot. 

He was trying hard enough not to jostle the contents of his stomach, he didn't need a scare like that. 

The dragon shook his head and tried to get his mind off of that. Instead looking ahead of him and trying to think of something else. Unfortunately for him, all he could think about was Nani. 

He really fucked up yesterday... Tempest felt the napkin shift in his pocket, as if it was reminding him what an asshole he was. 

An asshole for yelling at Nani and Kyle the way he did. He just got defensive because he didn't want to face the truth. The truth that there _was_ something wrong with him. As if a criminal record and a therapist weren't spelling it out loud enough for him. 

Nani deserved an apology. Shit, he would get on his hands and knees if she didn't forgive him. The fact was, he knew she would. And he needed to tell her how sorry he was even more because of that. She'd probably already forgiven him, and she was probably beating _herself_ up about what happened. The thought made him feel even worse. 

Kyle also deserved an apology. Although he was never as close to Kyle as he was to Nani. He felt like the goat was really only 'friends' with him because Nani was. That didn't make him any less worthy of it though. Kyle wasn't a stranger and he had been with Nani even longer than he was. He was defensive of her because he genuinely cared about her. Even more than Tempest did. And he threatened to kill him just like that..

Tempest didn't even realize how dumb that sounded. A convict just threatened someone who worked in office. He could spend 30 years jail time for that if Kyle was feeling so much as antsy. 

But he also knew Kyle. And he knew he wouldn't do that either. They were friends. And only until Tempest had to insert himself back into their lives was when everything went to shit. 

The dragon balled his fists up in his pockets. Maybe he'd just never been as guilty before. Maybe he was so in his own head that he couldn't see past his own pain. Maybe this could be a better start for him. 

He could scrap the mistakes he made with Julia. And focus on better things right now. Like Silver. 

Tempest smiled at the thought of her. Her gorgeous face and body. The smell of roses and autumn leaves, even despite the underlying scent of grease. 

She seemed so positive. Something he didn't realize how much he needed in his life. Not only someone to get his mind off of his pain, but someone who didn't know him. Or his god awful past. 

Tempest tried not to think about it. But he couldn't help but feeling different, now that it was common knowledge of his time in jail. And everyone looked at him differently for it. 

It might've been that he looked a little different, or acted a little different. But, he knew he was getting different, more cautious treatment. People seemed afraid to talk about him or think critically of him. 

Not that he would blame them for it. People think critically of others who did bad things. Especially people who knew them before.

Tempest would've been considered a good person before. He went to college, he helped his family, he had a loving girlfriend that he wanted to make his wife someday. 

Then that one night changed everything.

And now he was here. 

Fantasizing about a different girl and beating himself up over yelling at his friends. 

He wanted to be grateful, he wanted to be happy. But all his mind could do was snap to that night. Whenever anyone asked him about it, whenever anyone brought it up in conversation. 

His pain surfaced. All of his pain. And so did his anger. 

Just look where that got Nani and Kyle. They were stuck leaving upset when all they wanted to do is go into that bar and have a nice drink. 

But, Silver wasn't like that. She didn't know the old him and she wouldn't see what a piece of shit he was. He would make a good impression. He would love her, and treat her like the hardworking woman she was, with laughter, bliss, and happiness. 

She might ask questions. She might prod at him and find out what happened through any means. But that was a problem for future Tempest. 

Him, right now, would focus on what he wanted to say to her again. He would do everything in his power to make her laugh, and make her feel safe with him. 

Tempest felt a familiar warm feeling bubble up in his chest. Even in the biting cold, he felt warm when he thought of her. He only just met the feline, but he hadn't felt this way about someone in a long time. 

He chuckled to himself. Maybe it was the food that was finally doing it. Maybe it was his guilt. He liked to think it was her though. Seeing her face made him forget about the source of his guilt, Julie. But she was in the past, and he was in the now. 

And nothing else mattered. 

Tempest blinked out of his thoughts, and looked up to see a very familiar, quiet street. The old, brick apartment building looked like it would fall down at any minute. The cement was chipped and eroded down to its core, and sometimes it made him afraid that the building would fall down completely someday. Yet, still it stood tall, harboring many assholes like him, who blasted music and snapped nastily at each other like rabid animals. 

The lights flickered inside of the building, and the large glass doors that revealed the base floor were locked tight, shuddering in place, as the wind seeped through the cracks. It made a loud banging sound, probably even heard from inside of his own apartment, which was on the 5th floor. 

Tempest huffed in frustration. Not even no power would stop him from taking a shower. And he sure as hell knew that loud noises wouldn't keep him from sleeping. He couldn't count how many nights he had to sleep through screaming and blasting music. Sometimes even gun shots if people got excited. 

Living in this run down area, he was almost happy that he had a criminal record. At least then no one would fuck with him or his apartment. As far as they knew he was incredibly violent, and not someone they wanted to mess with. Which was only partly true.

Sure he would, rightfully, fuck anyone up that decided to step into his apartment uninvited, but he would have more reason to be angry if it was personal. The only reason he went to jail in the first place was because someone had to make something personal.

Being in prison essentially taught him nothing, except that lawyers can be scarily convincing. If he was in the same situation with anyone even remotely close to him, he probably would up and doing the same thing. 

Regardless, it was silent, save for the loud door. He heard no noise coming from the apartments above him. He assumed everyone left to go get a cheap motel for the night, or were asleep or huddled in blankets to keep warm.

Tempest walked to the edge of the street, looked both ways and crossed. Finally, he reached the other side of the street, and with one twist of his arm, Tempest unlocked the door and was now safe to the confines of his building. Somewhat warm, but protected from the biting wind. 

Tempest walked a few paces and squinted his eyes at the rapidly flashing lights. No elevator today. The worst thing that could happen right now is if he got stuck in there. He thought. 

The dragon huffed again, as he realized his only other option were the disgusting spiral stairs. He would really need a shower after this.

He held his hands to his belly even tighter, trying to steady it in place as much as possible, before he would have to climb his inevitable demise. 

Tempest started for the stairs, and began walking step by step up until he was at the fifth floor. He tried not to breath out of his mouth, or step in any left over piss or rotting food that still made its home there. It wasn't as hard to see with the flashing lights as Tempest thought it would be, but he took out his trusty flashlight phone, just in case. 

God forbid he ended up stepping in something that he would have to clean off. Or _someone_ he would have to clean off. These were his good shoes too..

The distant squeaking of rats made him unconsciously want to burn the entire building down, and he never got used to seeing giant orange cockroaches crawling across the wall. 

But, he was required by law to spend a few months here on probation. After that was up, he could've left. But seeing as he had no money, and no job, he decided to stay and get back up onto his feet. It was either this or a rehabilitation home, and he definitely wasn't rooming with anyone anytime soon. He cringed at the thought. 

Maybe if it was a close friend or a family member. Not multiple, sweaty, grown men who probably went in for drug abuse or sexual assault. They would probably bombard him with questions just like everyone else.

In prison, something Tempest was annoyed to figure out, was that telling someone how you got caught was like telling someone your club in highschool. It was just something that everyone shared, and some people even seemed proud of it. 

To anyone that asked about how _he_ was jailed the first few weeks.. Let's just say after one incident his sentence was indefinitely extended, and no one ever asked him about it again. 

He didn't think tranquilizers hurt so much. 

In fact, the only person he'd ever told what he went to jail for was his immediate family, and of course the people required, like his boss, etc. He would dread the day of ever having to tell Silver. And he was hoping he never had to.

Tempest finally exited the stairwell. He huffed in exhaustion, and felt even more tired. Only a few more paces. He thought finally. And turned left to find an incredibly welcoming apartment door. 

He walked up to it, a tired smile across his face as he thought of finally getting into the shower and jumping into bed. Until he stopped at his door to a strange package sitting uncharacteristically polished and straight. 

It wasn't your typical box package or paper package. It was just a rectangular box covered by a bag. The bag was a big, white plastic bag. And the box looked like it was white on the inside too. Tempest furrowed his eyes brows at that. 

Surprisingly enough, it wasn't stolen. He would take it in now, before anyone has the initiative. Even though the paranoia in the back of his head was telling him it was some kind of bomb or something. That wouldn't be the first time it happened in this building either.

Tempest unlocked his door and and picked up the bag cautiously. To his surprise it smelled good. Fucking fantastic actually. Kinda like a pastry? Tempest's stomach growled and he unconsciously licked his mouth, eager to see what was inside. 

He opened his door and closed it back behind him. He was hit with a blast of slightly warmer air and he breathed in the scents of his familiar home. Finally!

Tempest slipped off his wet, snowy shoes onto the old dirty carpet, and tossed the bag onto the kitchen table, a few steps left of the door. He attempted flick on the light next to him and groaned when it didn't even turn on at all. Officially, the power was out.. At least he had his phone. 

The dragon turned his phone face down, so that the flashlight would be shining up onto the ceiling, and looked around.

His apartment was a fucking mess. Clothes scattered across his floor and bottles of water and pills seemed to be everywhere. There could probably be an entire colony of rats living under a particularly moldy pair of pants and he wouldn't even know. 

He kept telling himself he would clean it up, but he never did and he probably never would. 

He wanted to just go straight to sleep so badly, he considered just going to bed without taking a shower altogether. But, he definitely needed one, and secretly hoped it would make him feel better too. His mind snapped to his aching belly and he subconsciously rubbed the rounded mass comfortingly. 

The dragon slipped off his jacket and threw it onto the floor nearby the table. He set his keys onto the table and picked up his flashlight phone, navigating around his messy apartment towards his bathroom. 

Finally he was in the safety of his own home. Tempest walked down the hallway to the bathroom. He turned on the water and waited for it to heat up, setting his phone face up so that he didn't have to carry the fucking thing everywhere.

At least, he was sure there weren't many people using the hot water, despite the weather outside. So he would take as long and as hot of a shower as he so damn well pleased. 

Tempest stepped out of the bathroom and moved into his room. He could barely see, but the orange light that flooded through his blinds seemed good enough. Somehow his room was even dirtier than the living room. He slipped off his clothes one by one until he was finally out of those tight clothes, and in his own skin. 

He sighed contentedly. "That's better.." He massaged the sore underside of his belly and walked further into the room to get a new pair of pants he would wear to bed. 

As comfortable as he was in his own home, Tempest never liked going to bed naked. Shirtless was fine, but maybe after his sentence, it felt weird sleeping without any clothes. He couldn't ever really put his finger on why, but knew it had either something to do with loneliness and relationship issues, or something else that involved his sudden proclivity to masturbate on the spot. Which also probably had something to do with loneliness and relationship issues. 

He shrugged and slung the pair of pants over his shoulder. Whatever got him to bed sooner. When he turned back around to leave his room he could see the steam rising from over the shower curtain and he smiled to himself at the thought of hot water touching his fur. 

Tempest walked into the bathroom, threw his pair of pants and a towel onto the top of the closed toilet seat, and took a step into the steaming tub. 

The water felt like a dream across his cold fur and he felt like he could fall asleep standing up. The water practically washed away all of his negative feelings away. All the pains, all the sores, and all of the feelings of disgust. The smell of soap rid his nose of the smell of alcohol and the cold air. And his muscles relaxed as the hot droplets ran through every crevice of his body. 

The shower calmed his nerves for now, and as he stepped out of the hot shower and dried himself off, he felt another particular hunger building up inside his stomach when he remembered the delicious smelling box. 

Nothing was wrong with a little dessert right? He picked up his phone and exited the bathroom.

Outside seemed to have calmed down a little, but the lights were still off. He would have to wait until morning for someone to finally turn the damn power on. The snow was still falling down, and even seemed to be falling in larger, thicker snowflakes. The outside was barely visible past a few inches of his window, and he scoffed in annoyance at the thought of not being able to show up to work because of something as stupid as snow. 

Tempest sighed and turned his attention back to the box, to keep his mind off of his troubles. It smelled even better now that nose wasn't running from the cold. 

He walked up to the box and ripped the bag open. No use in wasting his time trying to neatly untie the knot it was in. He took the bag off completely and slid it across the table, away from the box as he opened it. 

It smelled fresh, definitely pastries. He licked his lips and opened the box to even better than he ever could've imagined. 

In the box was 24 assorted donuts, neatly placed on top of one another to try to fit as many in one box as possible. The bright frosting and delicious smells made his mouth water, and he licked his lips unceremoniously. 

*Gurgle~ 

Tempest looked down at his grumbling belly, still large and full from last night's meal, but considerably shrunken down from yesterday. Eating vegan must've taken a toll on his fast metabolism. He only felt a little disheartened by this as he realized his beloved gut would be nothing more than an after thought by tomorrow. But he brushed it off and thought of how much bigger he could get it over the next week. 

Just the thought of his stomach being anywhere near the size it was before made his cock ache in anticipation. 

But that was for another day, he concluded. All he wanted was to sink his teeth into these donuts, and feel that full feeling again. His stomach was certainly agreeing with him. 

It groaned again in impatience and Tempest wasn't one to stall. He turned his phone over onto the kitchen table and grabbed the box of delights. If he really wanted to, he could've felt around in the dark and ate his fill that way, but it would probably take all of his energy to do so. 

Tempest cautiously moved and sat down on the couch, his eyes locked onto the box the entire time. And only now did he realize that there _was_ writing on the box. In a small corner of the white cardboard, a bright red logo read, 'Mandy's Meringue."

It didn't matter and he much less cared. He rested his head on the armrest of the couch, and safely placed the box of donuts on his chest. Being careful not to drop the delicacies, he picked up one lukewarm donut from the box and looked over the deliciously glistening chocolate glaze.

It had rainbow sprinkles coated over the top and what looked like a custard filling in the middle. 

Tempest gulped in anticipation, and his belly groaned loudly in impatience. He pressed his free hand to the organ and stroked it slowly, taking almost half the donut in his excitement to stuff his face.

He smiled as an explosion of flavor erupted on his tongue. The chocolate was so incredibly sweet he'd forgotten how much sweeter foods can get, the taste of bitter vegetables stayed in his mouth and he almost choked at the thought of having to eat them again. 

The light brown custard was so creamy and soft, and had a gelatin like consistency, a little give but so warm in the center. It tasted like a crisp apple frosting, and clashed perfectly with the rich dark chocolate glaze that melted in his mouth. 

The sprinkles on top were a nice, slightly crunchy texture change. They didn't add any specific flavor, but he was happy enough that there wasn't so many flavors to keep track of. Finally, the dough, was buttery and warm, even in the cold, and left a nice taste in his mouth when he finally swallowed. 

As light as the dough seemed when he bit into it, it was thick and made his stomach seem a little heavier, even after eating the one chunk.

He rubbed his belly absently and felt his shaft become a little straighter. Maybe he should've waited to eat these until he fully digested the ramen. He was gonna wet himself at this rate. 

He just barely stopped himself from reaching into his pants. He was still tired and he still wanted to sleep. Doing that would only lengthen the time he would stay awake.

Tempest picked up another donut from the box, and rubbed his cock in between his legs as a last effort to keep himself calm. 

This next one was strawberry, he could just barely see the color in the dim light of his phone flashlight. The donut was a different texture than the other one. And seemed more like a muffin than a donut, or something along the lines of pumpkin spice. Crumbly and buttery, but not as soft and moist as a regular donut. He could taste the large, sweet and sour chunks of strawberry hidden throughout the dough, and it made his mouth tingle in excitement. The strawberry frosting was soft and creamy, not as rich as the dark chocolate glaze on the last donut, but lighter and creamier. 

Strawberry was always his favorite. He licked his mouth and shoved the next bite in before he even finished chewing the last. He wasn't usually one for taking a few minutes to savor the flavor, as good as the donut was. 

Tempest picked up another donut, it looked like the first donut, chocolate glaze, sprinkles and all. except instead of custard filling, it was more chocolaty goodness. Smoother and softer, he took an even bigger bite out of the donut this time and felt the giant globs of chocolate fall down his stuffed cheeks. 

The warm chocolate was so nice and sweet, he didn't even realize the chocolate sputtering out of his mouth before it was too late, and when he did, he didn't care anyways. It was so good, he couldn't even imagine putting himself on a diet. 

The next was a pumpkin spice. The dough was soft and the entire exterior was coated in glittering chunks of white and brown sugar. When he bit down onto the buttery dough, the inside was a subtle, sweet pumpkin flavor, and was littered with chunks of pumpkin throughout the middle. He felt crystals and crumbles fall down his cheeks but the yummy flavor kept him from even opening his eyes.

Next was a powdered donut with jelly filling, staining his white fur with bright red jelly blotches, and crumbling into his mouth like a cascade of flavors. After that was a buttery, melt in your mouth plain glazed, a subtler sweet flavor, but still moist and smooth going down his throat. Even after that was a strawberry chocolate combo, his favorite by far, strawberry jelly on the inside and chocolate glaze on the outside. 

Each donut was moist, and smooth. Light in his mouth, yet still heavy when it finally entered his belly. The wide variety of flavors made his tongue dance in happiness, and he shoved each donut in without a second thought. Blueberry chocolate, an amazing mango cream donut, the intensely sweet honey glaze, coconut, and on and on and on. 

Before he even knew it, he heard the rounded pudge plead for him to stop, with a painstakingly loud groan. It snapped him out of his eating frenzy long enough for him to feel the pain coursing through his gut, and a burp forced its way past his mouth. 

He sat up slowly, and huffed in exhaustion when he was finally sitting upright and set the box down as carefully as he could. The last thing he wanted was to drop the lovely box of sweets.

Tempest rested a hand on his belly and felt another burp force it's way past his lips. His tongue lolled out and he testingly squeezed the fat in between his fingers. 

Another sharp pain was sent up his stomach and he slightly leaned back to give his belly some room. 

"*Burp-- ugh." He moaned and looked into the box sitting open on the floor. He'd already eaten half the box? 

As buttery and 'melt in your mouth' smooth as the previous donuts were, his mouth became a little dry and he licked his lips, tasting heaven all over again when his tongue ran over the leftover bits of donut and jelly. 

Now all he needed was something to wash it down with. Tempest groaned when he concluded that he would have to stand up. Then his mind snapped to his dirty, and uncomfortable couch and he suddenly didn't feel as annoyed by having to get up.

Tempest stretched in place and stood up from his couch, wobbling on unsteady legs and leaning onto the armrest for support.

The dragon walked slowly towards his dark kitchen and squinted when he felt around the familiar area. He opened the fridge quickly, and yanked out a carton of almond milk, slamming the door back and hoping he wouldn't wake up to a fridge full of bad food in the morning. 

On the spot, he flicked the cap off and threw the cold milk back down his throat. He eagerly gulped down the cool liquid, and his throat suddenly felt lighter the more he drank, eventually that stuffy feeling fell away entirely. He tilted the carton back to its original position and burped loudly, walking through the dark house and firmly holding one hand to his belly. 

Exhaustion was tugging at him like a needy child, and his body slumped forward as he made his way towards his room. His eyes were half lidded, and he leaned onto a nearby wall for support. Drool trickled down his mouth and he blinked slowly and tiredly. 

Suddenly the pleasure and pain of his state came crashing down on him all at once. And now he craved the feeling of his matress on his fur even more. He burped again softly and finally came to a stop at the foot of his room door. 

Tempest walked closer to his soft, blow up matress and sat down. His belly sloshed and bounced in his lap, and with one final swig of milk, the carton was empty. The dragon burped again, and leaned back onto one arm. His swiped his tongue over his lips and stared down at the rounded mass below. 

His belly bulged into a tight globe, sore and pink near the tip of his enlarged belly button. He moaned softly, and slapped his hand to the side of his rounded gut, sending it swaying and sloshing in his lap. The sound echoed throughout the room, and he blushed even deeper, gritting his teeth at the pain of his fully enlarged bulge. 

The ache in his pants swelled, and he felt the tip of himself come in contact with the bottom of his low hanging belly. Tempest slid his hand from the side, to the top of his tummy, and pushed down on the unsuspecting organ.

His belly and chest bloomed with pain, and the tip of his cock rubbed hard against his underbelly. The dragon huffed and pushed his belly down harder, thrusting his hips forward and lolling his tongue when even more of his shaft came in contact with the jiggling mass. 

The blush across his face grew deeper, and the saliva dripped from his tongue in even bigger globs. He forced the front of his sweatpants down and exposed his throbbing dick, thrusting even harder onto himself and gripping the sheets with his supporting hand. 

He leaned forward, rubbing half of his cock with his stomach, and rutting the other half against the wrinkled sheets. The dragon moaned deeply, and quickened his pace, using his supporting arm to push himself forward and backward, creating even more friction against his rigid dick. 

Sweat began to drip down from his forehead and he rolled his eyes towards the back of his head when he felt a stream of cum wet his underbelly. The sticky substance spurted onto the matress, and he only continued to come in repeated contact with it, his resolve to see this through overrode his disgust. 

He quickened his pace, and the pain only increased in his belly. The fur underneath his tight grip strained to keep its hold, and skin below that was starting to turn an even deeper, irritated red. 

Tempest grit his teeth and seethed heavily in bliss, curling his eyebrows upward submissively, he felt himself starting to get close. He moaned and fought between an opened mouthed pant, and a toothy grit, the pain was starting to become unbearable and he was only becoming more excited. 

"F-ugh-k," he repeated through panting and saliva. His dick started to throb even harder, and his cum soaked underbelly was providing less and less friction. 

Tempest began to get annoyed, and gripped his stomach even tighter, almost drawing blood when his sharp claws nearly pierced his belly. His supporting hand started to become restless. The dragon pushed on his belly even harder for more stimulation, and a whimper escaped his mouth, when it didn't come. 

Finally fed up with his original method, he quickly fell onto his back, and used his support hand to grab hold of his cock. Then he jerked his arm back and forth violently, still rubbing the tip of his dick across his bulging belly. 

Tempest thrust even harder into the air, and arched his back off of the matress, with one final moan, he felt his dick soften, and the felt the trickle of cum run down his knuckles.

The dragon let go of himself, and laid both hands to his sides, still panting desperately to catch his breath. The 'masturbation high' started to kick in, and he felt a small smile cross his face, his tongue lolling, and the blush spread across his face even more. 

Tempest lidded his eyes. Everything hurt, but he didn't care. He licked his lips and felt his entire face turn an even deeper red at even just the thought of stuffing himself tommorow. 

Fuck, he would gave to take a _good_ shower in the morning, he thought and closed his eyes. 

Still panting in exhaustion, Tempest yawned one final time, despite the pain, despite his disgusting semen soaked fur, he knew this was right. And all he ever needed was food, and his growing tummy. 

The dragon took a deep breath and sighed, his sleepiness overtaking him, and soon he drifted off to sleep. For the first time in months, he could go to sleep happily. 


End file.
